IPL 2019 | Playing against MS Dhoni feels surreal, says Riyan Parag

All of 17, Parag is living the dream of being an IPL player and proved his worth with a solid stand with Steve Smith as their partnership helped Royals beat Mumbai Indians in Jaipur yesterday. This IPL was special for him as he got a chance to make his debut against Chennai Super Kings, which is led by MS Dhoni, with whom his father Parag Das has played enough cricket for East Zone team in the past. Riyan is happy that he got a chance to make his debut against CSK and play against his idol MS Dhoni.

“I’ve been idolising Dhoni since I was 6-7 years old and now bowling to him, setting the field against him, even batting while he was keeping behind, it’s just surreal. Watching the IPL for the last five-six years and now being a part of it, being a part of Rajasthan Royals and contributing to my team. It feels surreal. I feel grateful to Rajasthan for picking me and grateful to god,” Parag said in a conversation with Jaydev Unadkat for IPLT20.com.

Yesterday, Riyan drew heavy praise from his skipper as the duo stitched a match-winning partnership, and Smith also called him a calm head and a quick learner in the post-match conversation.

“He is calm, cool and composed. In the previous matches, he had batted the same way. He works very hard, and is a big and strong young kid. He came out and played with that freedom, saw the ball and hit the ball. He did not worry about anything and just played the game.”